Frame brace



Apr. 3, 1923. 1,450,513

M. E. PEARSON ET AL FRAME BRACE Filed Dec 28, 1921 IN VEN T 0R5 Wes E. 6611961012 ma Edward 21934 W ATMNEY Patented Apr. 3, 1923.

siren sr'rs PATENT or rice.

MILES E. PEARSON AND EDWARD TOW, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA; SAID PEARSON ASSIGNOR TO SAID TOW.

FRAME BRACE.

Application filed December 28, 1921. Serial No. 525,293.

This invention relates to improvements in.

frame-braces, and particularly to a type of brace suitable for application to open frames of any character, such as screen or other doors, and in fact toany structure which is intended to be moved or swung away from a rigid sustaining means, and which tends witha repetition of such movement to sag out of true alinement and to otherwise lose its original shape,

Screen doors particularly, being naturally made of somewhat light construction, are very apt to sag after a short time, due not only to their own weight, but to the fact that the person using the same almost invariably eXerts a downward pressure on the same at the outer edge where the handle is located. This is also true of automobile doors and the like.

The principal object of our invention therefore is to provide a corner brace which when applied will positively maintain the door etc. in its true and original alinement, and which may be readily and easily attached to any structure either when the same is being manufactured or after it is installed.

Another object is to provide. a device which is adapted to be attached by means of screws or the like, which will not have any tendency to pull out from the wood, since they are arranged to be under a shearing instead of a tensional strain. In the former case, the screw must shear off or the wood split lengthwise before there can be any give-which is a most unlikely occurrence. In the latter case, the threads cut in the wood by the screws are all that hold the same from coming out, and the woods used being generally soft, this is what invariably happens with the form of corner i brace or bracket-s now available.

A third object is to provide a form. of brace which, while it may be madeof cast metal, is especially designed to be stamped out of sheet metal, without setting up any weak places in the metal by so doing, so that a much lighter, neater and cheaper article may be had than is otherwise pos sible, and one which will not detract from the appearance of the door.

A. furtherpbject of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes which it is de signed. I

These objects we accomplish bymeans of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of I the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

Fig. 1 is a perspective outline of the lower portion of a screen door, showing the application of one complete brace and the inner or base member of another thereto.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the base 0 inner member of the brace.

Fig. 3 is a similar view of the outer member.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross section taken on a line 4.4 of Fig 2.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral 1 denotes the frame of a screen door, adapted to lie on either the outside or inside of which and for preferably the full depth thereof adjacent each corner is a sub,

stantially flat plate 2 shaped to extend verby stamping, and which may extend com-' pletely across said plate, while an additional stiffening rib 4 similarly formed may be positioned diagonally in the plane of a bisecting line of the angle A, or thereabouts.

This rib however terminates short of the edges of the plate so that the latter can have no tendency to flatten out and enlarge the angle A when strain is placed on the memher on which it is mounted.

Adapted to be placed on the out-side of the plate 2 is a member 5, consisting of a pair of plates 6 positioned at right angles to each other which have right-angled flanges 7' adapted to lie against the inner surfaces of the thickness of the frame members, both vertically and horizontally from the corners thereof, and preferably extending to the plane of the screen 1.

The plates 6 and flanges 7 are made out of a single flat piece of metal, bent to shape, the flanges being given a rightangle bend as at B to allow a snug fit with the corners of the frame being had.

The member 5 extends beyond the plate 2 in both directions, and is provided with ribs 8 which fit over and form a seat with the ribs 3 of the plate 2, and preferably with additional strengthening ribs 9 in the area beyond said plate, both ribs 8 and 9 also extending across the flanges 7 for stiffening the same.

In attaching the device, the plate 2 is first located in position on the frame, and the member 5 then superimposed thereon, when the entire structure is attached to the frame by means of screws 10, which pass through the plates 2 and 6, while additional screws 1. beyond the plate 2 pass through the plates 6 directly into the frame. If desired. light screws 12 may also be placed through the flanges 7, but this is not absolutely necessary in ordinary cases, and they never take any strain.

These flanges are an important feature, as they aid materially in preventing a sagging of the frame, especially at those corners where such sagging would decrease the size of the corner angle, without throwing any strain on the holding screws, which in any case is a shearingone only.

The device could of course be made of cast metal in one piece, but besides being necessarily cumbersome and unduly heavy, the inner surfaces would have to be smoothed down to give reasonably accurate tit. Sheet metal, already smooth surfaced, is therefore preferable, but if it is attempted to stamp an article of such shape from a single piece. a serious weakening of the metal at the bend between the flanges 7 is bound to be had, which would seriously lessen the strength and efliciency of the structure. For this reason mainly we hare formed the device in two separate parts.

While for the particular purpose illustrated the angle A is degrees, for odd shaped automobile doors and other structures, the angle may of course be of a size to correspond to requirements.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that we have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters iatent, is

1. A frame brace comprising a plate adapted to lie against the sides of a pair of angularly related members of a frame and to project beyond the apex of the angle between said frame members, an additional plate member adapted to lie on the first named plate and to extend'therebeyond at each end, securing means for fastening both plate members together and to the frame, and means for insuring positive alinement of said plate members with each other regardless of the securing means.

2. A frame brace comprising a plate adapted to lie against the sides of a pair of angularly related members of a frame and to project beyond the apex of the angle between said frame members, an additional plate member adapted to lie on the first named plate and to extend therebeyond at each end, and cooperating corrugations in both plate members whereby one may be immovably seated on the other. i

3. A frame brace comprising a plate adapt-- ed to lie against the sides of a pair of angularly related members of a frame and to project beyond the apex of the angle between said frame members, an additional plate member adapted to lie on the first named plate and to extend therebeyond at each end, and-cooperating corrugations in both plate members adapted to extend at an angle to the edges of the respective frame members.

4. A. frame brace comprising a plate adapted to lie against the sides of a pair of angularly related members of a frame and to project beyond the apex of the angle between said frame members, an additional plate member adapted to lie on the first named plate and to extend therebeyond at each end. and means formed on the plate members for both strengthening the same and for securing positive alinement of the members relative to each other.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

MILES E. PEARSQN. EDWARD TOW. 

